HMS ''Dauntless'' was a

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

of the

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. She was built by

Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company Limited, often referred to simply as "Palmers", was a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British shipbuilder, shipbuilding company. The company was based in Jarrow, County Durham, in north-eastern ...

Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. Historically in County Durham, it is on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. The 2011 census area classed Hebburn and the Boldons as ...

, launched on 10 April 1918 and commissioned on 22 November 1918.

Design

The ''Danae'' class mounted an extra 6 inch gun and a heavier torpedo armament, compared with their predecessors, the . The class also had larger low revolution propellers for greater efficiency. ''Dauntless'' herself was completed with a large hangar under her bridge, which was eventually removed in 1920.

Interwar service

Completed too late to see action in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, in 1919 she was assigned to operate in the

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against the

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revolutionaries in

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. She was then on detached service in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

. Following this assignment she was attached to the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet for the following five years. ''Dauntless'' was a member of the Cruise of the Special Service Squadron, also known as the 'Empire Cruise', of 1923/24. Following this tour, she went with the squadron to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

for the next few years. In 1928, as a result of the addition of South America to the geographic limits of the Royal Navy's

North America and West Indies Station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956, with main bases at the Imperial fortresses of Bermuda and Halifax, Nova Scotia. The ...

, the station was renamed the ''"America and West Indies Station"'', and in May 1928 ''Dauntless'' was recommissioned and transferred to the Station from the Mediterranean, based at the Royal Naval Dockyard in the

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, to augment the vessels of the 8th Light Cruiser Station. South American waters had previously been patrolled by the ''"South American Squadron"'', but this had been withdrawn due to financial constraints in 1921, since when the British flag had been shown there only by special visits (such as during the world cruise of the First Cruiser Squadron in 1924 or by HMS Repulse, or during the March to October, 1925, tour of Africa and South America by the

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'), or by detaching a ship from the North America and West Indies Station. She ran aground on 2 July 1928 on the Thrum Cap Shoal, off Halifax,

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, and was badly damaged, suffering the breach of her

engine room On a ship, the engine room (ER) is the Compartment (ship), compartment where the machinery for marine propulsion is located. The engine room is generally the largest physical compartment of the machinery space. It houses the vessel's prime move ...

and of one of her boiler rooms. She was abandoned by most of her 462 crew, the officers remaining on board. Subsequently all of her guns and

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s and much of her other equipment had to be removed to lighten her. She was finally refloated on 11 July 1928 and towed off by her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

and a number of

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. She was repaired throughout 1929 and was reduced to the reserve. In 1930 she was transferred back to the America and West Indies Station. During 1931-1933 she served with the South American Division (of the America and West Indies Station), and in 1934 she relieved the cruiser in the Mediterranean and was reassigned to the 3rd Cruiser Squadron. In 1935 she returned to Britain to be paid off into the reserve.

Wartime career

On the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, ''Dauntless'' was recommissioned and joined the 9th Cruiser Squadron with the South Atlantic Command. In December, the squadron, including ''Dauntless'', was transferred to the

China Station The Commander-in-Chief, China, was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941. From 1831 to 1 ...

, and in March 1940 ''Dauntless'' operated as a unit of the British Malaya Force while in the Indian Ocean. She operated mainly off Batavia, keeping watch on German merchant ships in the

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harbours. On 15 June 1941 she collided with the cruiser off

Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...

and had to put into

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for repairs, that were eventually completed on 15 August. In February 1942 ''Dauntless'' returned to Britain, and underwent a refit at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. Following this, she was transferred to the

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, and in November was docked in the Selborne dry dock at Simonstown,

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, until January 1943. She was then used as a training ship, and in February 1945 was again reduced to the reserve. She was sold to be broken up for scrap on 13 February 1946, and in April that year was broken up at the yards of

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, of

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References

Publications

* * * * * * * *

External links

Ships of the ''Danae''-class
* ttp://www.britishpathe.com/video/hms-dauntless-1 HMS Dauntless arrives in Portsmouth after repairs.Newsreel from

Pathé News Pathé News was a producer of newsreels and documentaries from 1910 to 1970 in the United Kingdom. Its founder, Charles Pathé, was a pioneer of moving pictures in the silent era. The Pathé News archive is known today as "British Pathé". I ...

, 1929 * OldWeather.org transcription of ship's logbooks January to December 1919 {{DEFAULTSORT:Dauntless 1918 ships Danae-class cruisers of the Royal Navy Ships built on the River Tyne World War II cruisers of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in 1928